The Stone Rabbit

BOXING UP THE MOMENT

 

 

Sometimes I just want to pinch myself when life is so momentarily sweet.  Those times don't seem to happen that often and when they do. . . I just want to box myself up with them. . . so they'll last a little longer.

Like this morning, for instance. . . .

I had a super duper full day planned, but I wanted to spend some time taking in the gift of our amazing Missouri morning before the rain (which our lawns will more than appreciate) rolls in.

 

I positioned myself at the far end of our patio.....the part where there is no roof.....and just stared up at the blue sky. . . watching a buzzard circling south of our house. . . then hearing the drone of a small plane and eyeing the sky til it popped into view.

 

 

The noise from a nearby high way was gone, now that rush hour was over, and all I could hear was the wind picking up . . . bringing in some dark clouds and causing the plants on our patio to rustle and the big trees in the yard behind us to stir.

 

 

I wanted to use this quiet, alone time to jot down questions I have for a little "interview" I'm doing with a fellow "elder runner" and . . . 

 

 

to read a few more pages in THE HELP.  I've vowed I will not see the movie til I finish reading it.

 

Once in a while, I've been letting my kitty Twiggy out on the patio with me, too.  I can't trust her to "stick around" like I can my older (and a bit brainier boy cat, Frankie), so I put THE STONE RABBIT in charge of watching her while I wrote my questions and read in my book.

 

 

It was such a rare and peaceful moment we were having and I have to say, I was totally absorbed in my writing and reading. . .when  I was jolted back into reality by the sound of loud squawking Canada Geese. 

 

I heard the sounds, then saw five air born, and ENORMOUS, geese bodies barely clearing the roof of the house across the street, then zooming between our house and that of our neighbor's . . .at a very, very low level.  

Now, we have lots of geese sightings (and ducks) around here because of the pond on a nearby golf course, however, I've NEVER seen them flying over so close to the ground. . . and my head!!!

I wish I had been quicker thinking to grab my camera and snap a photo of them, but I was literally shocked at how fast they came out of no where. . . .  so loudly and low flying, to their next stop.  

This was little Twiggy's first experience with a goose....let a lone five of them.  Once I saw that they were so close, I quickly looked for her, wondering if she was gonna head for the door or make a dash for it off the patio,  but she didn't do either.  Instead, she took the "how small can I make myself look approach" and flattened out on the patio floor. . .doing everything except putting her little paws over her eyes.

 

When the noise stopped, she rose up and hesitantly looked around. . .trying to determine the current safety level.  :)

 

So, while my "quiet time" had been quickly turned upside down, I had to appreciate the moment. . . even when nearly dive-bombed by some noisy, low-flying geese. . . it was a pretty spectacular moment getting to see them up close as they made their way to the pond.

Another thing I appreciated this morning is how most of my plants have survived this crazy hotter than usual summer we've had.  I've had to have most of the pots pulled under the roofed part of the patio or they would have fried for sure.  This weekend, I was able to place them back in the spots they belong.

While I tend to be  a "glass half empty" gal who does strive  to be a "glass half full" person. . . I'm always better off when I sip my morning coffee from my beloved Mary Engelbreit Santa cup.  I find that if I can keep focused on "BELIEVE"  that my mind is in a happier, brighter place. . . at least until the geese take me by surprise again!  

 DANA 

THANK YOU "PIONEER WOMAN" or How I Conquered My Fear of Yeast!!!!

 

I had purchased copies of Ree Drummond's book, THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS, for gifts, but didn't get a copy for ME until recently.

While I was looking through it, I spotted her recipe for. . . 

 

 

cinnamon rolls!!!!  

Since Easter was quickly approaching, I decided I would give this recipe a try so I could serve them for Easter brunch.

 


Ree's book is packed with terrific step by step pictures of the process of creating her recipes.  This was important to me for making cinnamon rolls since I have never worked with . . . .YEAST!!!!  

 

The word YEAST just made me shake with fear, but after reading and SEEING Ree's directions, I felt a little more comfortable with attempting to make these delicious treats!  

 

I didn't get a picture of the actual bowl of dough as it went through the process of rising!!  But let me tell you, it was a glorious sight!!

Below, you see half of the dough as I rolled it to Ree's specifications. . . about 10" wide and 30" long!

 

Next, came a LARGE amount of melted butter which I spread over the rolled out dough.

I did have "butter overflow" in a couple of spots on the first batch of rolls I made, but I was able to avoid that the second time around by "rubbing" it into the dough and decreasing the amount I used....but only by  a tiny bit!  Gotta have the butter!!!

The butter was topped with a whole bunch of sugar and cinnamon!!!

The "rolling" process was the most difficult for me.  I had trouble keeping the roll even. . . 

so I ended up with an ugly edge. . .

and a lumpy area in the middle of the roll that kinda looked like a snake that had just dined on a mouse!  :)

Note the rolling pin. . .my dad made that for me many years ago!!  He could make almost anything.

 

I sliced the roll into 1 1/2" slices and placed the pieces in these aluminum pans.  Again note:  they are MADE IN THE USA from recycled aluminum.

I had to use these pans, cuz all of my other baking dishes were going to be full of other goodies on Easter.

 

Because my roll varied from small to large to small (going from end to end), I decided to put the nicer sized slices in one pan. . .

and the smaller ones, all to themselves, in another pan.

In the end, it didn't matter with how large or small the rolls were. . . they all tasted scrumptious.

 

While the rolls were baking, I mixed up the frosting.

Ree used a maple flavored confectioner's sugar icing.  We're not fond of that flavor, so I made basically the same as hers, but substituted vanilla for the maple flavoring.

I promptly realized, when I started frosting my rolls, that I had it too thick, so I had to thin it down so it would "drizzle".

 Another note:  this pink Pyrex bowl is part of a set that belonged to my mom. :)

 

OK, so on my second roll of dough, I had reread Ree's directions and realized part of my problem with making the "roll" of dough tight and even, was that I wasn't rolling it towards me.  With that approach, I was able to make a more (although not as nice as Ree's!!!) uniform roll.

Here's the second batch all ready to bake!!  You can see I did a better job of making the rolls a bit more uniform.  The two little ones, in the pan on the right, were the slices on the ends.

 

Baked and iced and oh so yummy!!!

This is truly a super easy process for such a fabulous end result!


Thank you, Ree, for sharing your recipes in this wonderful book!!  

THE STONE RABBIT wanted you to know just how much everyone LOVED the cinnamons rolls and how excited he is that I have now conquered my fear of YEAST!!





DANA

Sharing a Little Pink with a NEW Friend!

On Tuesday of this last week, I loaded up THE STONE RABBIT and a gift- - - in a PINK bag.  We were off on a wonderful new adventure.  We were going to meet. . . in person. . . a "friend" we had known for about a year and a half as "Pat". 

Pat had been a frequent visitor and commenter on my blog.  Over time, it became apparent that we lived very close to each other.  We started e-mailing. . . then became friends on Facebook.  Finally, we decided it was time to meet. . . for REAL- - - in person !!!

Right off the bat, the meeting was fun. . . we  arrived at the restaurant at exactly the same time and parked next to each other!  She had seen photos of me all over my blog, but the only picture I had seen of her was on her Facebook page.  However, I knew it was her, the moment I looked over in her car.  We both burst out laughing as soon as we got out of our cars and got our first up close, in person,  look at each other!   There we were. . . each of us clutching the PINK  bag of gifts we had brought to the other! :) 

Once inside the restaurant and seated in our booth, we quickly started jabbering like long lost friends.  We soon discovered we had SO many interests and experiences and PEOPLE in common!!  

I figured Pat would know that I would be toting my camera along. . . she was a little shy about the picture taking thing......at first!  However, it didn't take too long before she jumped on board for the fun!!  Here is your first "glimpse" of Pat. . .with the gift she brought for me.

Pat took a picture of me and my gift of PINK for her!!
 

We were so busy getting to know each other that we didn't really look at our menu.  However, after about the 87th stop at our table. . . with order pad in hand. . . the waitress was clearly becoming perturbed at us for lolly gagging about our selection.   Sensing her frustration, we finally ordered.

This is what Pat selected .  It was called Tuscan Bean Salad.

 

Here is what I selected. . . also Tuscan Bean Salad!

Our salads were great. . . a bit heavy on the garlic. . . but still great!

We were even given special sweet treats after we cleaned our plates!  
 

We met for lunch in the town of Lee's Summit, Missouri. . . about half way between our homes.

  After we ate, we headed to the historic business district for some more chatting and a bit of shopping.  The day was one of the few warm and sunny Spring days that we've enjoyed this year!!  It made our first meeting perfect!
 

Among our stops was a wonderful ice cream shop where we enjoyed Peach-Lemonade Sorbet.  You see, the garlic from our Tuscan Bean Salad was still with us. . . we were in desperate need of relief from the aftermath of that seasoning!!  This treat did the trick!!

 

Pat and I had an incredible time.  As I said in the beginning of this post, we have so much in common that it is scary. . . in a very GOOD way!!  The frosting on our "life experiences cake" came when we put it together that our sons and their little families live within blocks of each other. 

So, this brings me to a bit of pondering.  Do you believe in fate?  Do you believe in co-incidence?  How about pure, dumb luck?  Do you ever wonder why our paths cross with some and not with others?  Is it all a Crap Shoot? 

I don't know exactly for sure what I believe.  I do feel that God has much too much on his plate to orchestrate the meetings. . . interactions. . . of us mortals, but I also feel that there is something or someone touching---maybe  nudging us---  putting us in experiences and situations that are meant only for us at just the right time. . . and just the right people.  The experiences or people that change our lives.

So, I have to think that there was a reason that Pat and I met at this time in our lives.  Maybe one of God's assistants put the whole thing in motion.   I started a blog. . . she's an avid blog reader.  Basically, she found me and left nice comments. . . and I replied to those.  A "friendship" was formed. . . one that I hope will continue to grow for many, many years to come!  Pat is such a special, fun, kind and interesting person.  

OH. . . and I think she just might find that PINK is becoming one of her favorite colors!!!

                                                    *   *    *   *   *   *   *   *

By the end of our time together, Pat knew  I wouldn't let her get away without a photo of her and THE STONE RABBIT!!!

Pat's gifts to me were TWO books written by Michael Lee West, who also has a wonderful blog entitled DESIGNS BY GOLLUM.

What a treat. . . two wonderful new books to enjoy with THE STONE RABBIT, while sipping coffee from my PINK "Life is Good" mug ! 

That mug says it all !!

 

Thank you for letting me share my meeting with Pat. . . and our little bags of PINK! 

I'm certain you will enjoy visiting the many other bloggers Beverly has waiting for you at HOW SWEET THE SOUND!!  They will have lots of great PINKS to share, too! 

Have a wonderful PINK SATURDAY!!! 

DANA